Acts of Kindness: Prout School student honored for her charitable work in Vietnam

Photo courtesy of The Prout School

Posted:
Thursday, March 1, 2018 12:00 am

A student at The Prout School, Phoebe Nerone of Wakefield, has been honored by The Metta Students Foundation with a $1,000 contribution for her efforts to help poor children and the elderly in Vietnam. The Metta Students Foundation is a non-profit organization that awards $1,000 grants to high school students in order to promote acts of kindness among young people.

In 2012, Nerone, along with her mother and sister, started a small non-profit to help poor children in Vietnam. After spending several summers volunteering in Vietnam, Ms. Nerone identified another need in the country, reading glasses for the poor and elderly, and decided to do something about it.

She first started collecting the glasses in 2014 and, so far, has been able to donate 735 pairs to elderly men and women in Vietnam. Nerone also wanted to give back to her local community, so she created a small cookie baking service called Cookies That Care. She bakes cookies two to three times a month and donates them to shelters. She has been able to donate more than 1,600 cookies thus far.

Rozanne Fuller nominated Nerone for the Metta Foundation award stating, “Phoebe has a very kind heart and generous spirit. She is very compassionate and has the courage to act when she feels something needs to be done to help others.”

About her future, Nerone said, “I am thinking about receiving a degree that relates to human health and well-being, ultimately traveling the world to the poorest countries to help those in need as my family currently does in Vietnam.”

Prout’s Advancement Director Nicole Kelly said, “Prout students have a long history of improving the lives of others through Christian service. Phoebe is the second student from The Prout School to be recognized by the Metta Students Foundation for her acts of kindness. Exactly two years ago, Prout student Emma Saccoccio was also honored by Metta for her efforts to address yet another societal issue.”